At a reception in Antwerp, Georgiana met Joseph de Villemont, the younger son of a count. His grandfather, Athanasius, had fought in the American War and inherited from relatives a vineyard near the Marne, said to be the premier Champagne-producing region of France.
Although Germans loved beer, the nobility was also very fond of Champagne. Before the French Revolution broke out, Joseph's father had met a German winemaker who had left his homeland for France to learn the Champagne wine trade. But the winemaker married the count's daughter, Charlotte de Villemont, Joseph and his elder brother's mother.
By rights, they should have borne their father's surname. However, the German winemaker was merely a commoner, while the count had only one daughter. By the traditions of the old era, nobles were not allowed to engage in trade. Through the young winemaker's hard work, the estate's scale and cultivated acreage steadily expanded. Once the two sons came of age, Joseph handled sales, while George and their father managed the cellars, until the French Revolution erupted.
Joseph spoke fluent English, German, and french. Through connections he had built up in the past, he sent his parents to Britain while he and George remained in Antwerp to continue their business. Because Napoleon decreed that exiles had to return home before Vendémiaire, George went back, while Joseph remained in Belgium.
During his trips to and from England, he heard about the conditions of French prisoners there and even visited them in prison. Prisoners, too, came in two kinds: those who lived well and those who did not. Dieppe was famous for ivory carving, and some prisoners carved exquisite artworks from leftover beef bones, which the guards took away to sell for money. Those prisoners could have clean private rooms, hot water, and clean clothes in